I saw this on the Web and found it interesting:www.barnardmicrosystems.com/L4E_atlantic_crossing_II.htmDo you think it was all programed into the GPS, or did it have some direct communication to correct its course in flight?
Very impressive. Thanks for fillng me in on the details. Amazing with all the winds and storms it was able to correct course and get to the destination. I will Google "Moose Tracker".
Well, it was a rather simple navigation problem, just one way point!!!
I met the guy who did it, Maynard Hill, when he came through Schenectady NY on a speaking tour. He is the inspiration for me getting into this hobby, and for building the UAV DevBoard, and I am thankful to him for that.
Navigation and altitude control was done entirely by GPS. There was no direct communication from Maynard to his plane, but he did have a "Moose Tracker" installed on the plane. So, his plane was the first "moose" to cross the atlantic.
The moose tracker is usually used to track a moose, obviously. ;-) I am not sure how it works, but there are satellites involved that communicate with it. Maynard received regular emails with the location of his "moose".
Maynard made 6 planes. Before the successful flight, 4 other planes were lost, presumably into the Atlantic Ocean. The 5th one made it. The 6th one is in a museum.
Maynard took his wife along up to NewFoundland to make the flights. She said something to this effect to Maynard: "Sure is a long way to go to throw 6 little airplanes into the ocean".
One of the biggest challenges facing Maynard was getting enough fuel onboard to make the long trip. Basically, he converted the entire plane into one large fuel tank, I think there was about 4 or 5 pounds of fuel on board. He had to do a hand launch. There was only 1 ounce of fuel left went it arrived in Ireland.
Comments
Well, it was a rather simple navigation problem, just one way point!!!
I met the guy who did it, Maynard Hill, when he came through Schenectady NY on a speaking tour. He is the inspiration for me getting into this hobby, and for building the UAV DevBoard, and I am thankful to him for that.
Navigation and altitude control was done entirely by GPS. There was no direct communication from Maynard to his plane, but he did have a "Moose Tracker" installed on the plane. So, his plane was the first "moose" to cross the atlantic.
The moose tracker is usually used to track a moose, obviously. ;-) I am not sure how it works, but there are satellites involved that communicate with it. Maynard received regular emails with the location of his "moose".
Maynard made 6 planes. Before the successful flight, 4 other planes were lost, presumably into the Atlantic Ocean. The 5th one made it. The 6th one is in a museum.
Maynard took his wife along up to NewFoundland to make the flights. She said something to this effect to Maynard: "Sure is a long way to go to throw 6 little airplanes into the ocean".
One of the biggest challenges facing Maynard was getting enough fuel onboard to make the long trip. Basically, he converted the entire plane into one large fuel tank, I think there was about 4 or 5 pounds of fuel on board. He had to do a hand launch. There was only 1 ounce of fuel left went it arrived in Ireland.
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